Letters

In the Aug. 7 edition of the Beacon, Jean Garland of Shallotte wrote a brief letter about her observation of seeing ex-Sheriff Ronald Hewett when he had dignity.

In her observation, she is, perhaps unknowingly, reminding all of us to think instead of judge. How many times we are quick to judge someone else for behaviors that seem foreign to us. How easy it is to point the finger when someone “falls off the pedestal” for whatever reason.

On April 4, elected officials and citizens were invited to attend Humane Lobby Day at the local animal shelter. This is a statewide event and was publicized in advance to give citizens the opportunity to meet with their elected officials to address issues that are important to them.

I put it on my calendar because it was important to me. I drove to the shelter at 1 p.m. fully expecting to have time to discuss my concerns with an elected official. Many other voters did the same thing.

On Feb. 1, Sunset Beach Councilman Mike Williams was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and driving on the wrong side of the road. His driver’s license was revoked. His court date was set for June 4. On June 4, at his request, his DWI court date was postponed until July 30. On July 30, at his request, his DWI court date was again postponed — until Sept. 26.

Sunset Beach Town Council proposes to make an ongoing nightmare even “darker” for property owners in the Jaguar’s Lair subdivision of Ocean Ridge Plantation. It plans to release a Coastal Communities performance bond before the developer installs an estimated $160,000 of central underground electric cables in the community.

The recent violence between Israel and Palestine started over three kidnapped Israeli teens murdered, followed by one Palestinian teen kidnapped and set on fire, followed by his cousin being beat up by Israeli cops. When I look at their faces, I see the faces of kids who could live in my neighborhood.

Now here are some words that did not exist 200,000 years ago: Hebrew, Jewish, Israel, Islam, Muslim, Palestine, Gaza, Zion. Neither did the words Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, America or Mexico.

House Bill 725 will raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction for misdemeanants. North Carolina is one of only two states that automatically prosecutes all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, even for something as minor as stealing a bag of Doritos.

I wasn’t a big fan of ex-sheriff Ron Hewett, but I didn’t have anything against him, either. The last image I see of him is the altercation in jail. I could have done without that. The last time I saw him in person was at church, and he had dignity.

Despite stern financial warnings by the Sunset Beach town administrator and taxpayer anger demonstrated at a recent community meeting, councilmen Lou De Vita, Mike Williams and Wilson Sherrill approved a $6 million budget, the largest in Sunset Beach history and 6.1 percent above last year. To avoid a major tax increase, they forecasted record revenues of $6 million, a 14.3 percent increase, which based on recent revenue trends, would take divine intervention to achieve.

The one main thing the big bang does not explain is the origin of the universe. It is only a story about what supposedly happened afterwards. The only suggestion ever made is self-creation, which is illogical and absurd.